Pursuant to the provisions of Section 65100 et seq., of the
California Government Code, the Planning Agency is established for
the City as a combination of the City Council, Planning Commission,
Architectural and Landscaping Committee, and the Building and Planning
Departments.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 1992)
The Planning Commission has the following responsibilities:
(a)
General
Plan. Periodically review and recommend to the City Council revisions
of the General Plan.
(b)
Specific
Plans. Recommend to the City Council such specific plans as may be
necessary or desirable to carry out the objectives of the General
Plan.
(c)
Regulations,
Programs, and Legislation. Recommend to the City Council drafts of
regulations, programs and legislation as the Commission deems necessary
or appropriate for the systematic execution of the General Plan.
(d)
Subdivision
Map Act and CEQA. Act as the advisory agency to the City Council in
connection with the administration of the Subdivision Map Act (Gov.
Code § 66410 et seq.) and the California Environmental Quality
Act of 1970 ("CEQA") (Pub. Res. Code § 21000 et seq.).
(e)
Zoning,
Conditional Use and Variance Applications. Review all zoning (except
interim zoning), conditional use, and variance applications and make
recommendations with regard to the same to the City Council.
(f)
Sign
Matters. Review and approve sign matters as specified by this Code.
(g)
City's
Capital Improvement Plan. Annually review the City's Capital Improvement
Program for consistency with the General Plan.
(h)
Design Review. Review a design-review application for compliance with Chapter 21.60 when the application is referred to the Commission by the Community Development Director or the Design Review Committee.
(i)
Other.
Perform such other functions, duties and responsibilities as are specifically
provided for in the Code of the State and the Code of the City, and
such other duties and functions as may be specifically requested by
the City Council.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 1992; Ord. 727 § 1. 2020)
(a)
Appointment and Term.
(1)
Generally. The Planning Commission shall consist of five members
who shall be registered voters within the City and who shall be appointed
by the City Council. The term of office for members of the Commission
shall be a staggered term of office with terms of two years overlapping
and commencing on December 1 of the applicable year and continuing
until the second December 30 that follows. The members shall serve
for said term, and until their successors have been appointed. All
appointments to the Commission shall be by three affirmative votes
of the City Council and any appointment to fill a vacancy shall be
for the unexpired term of the member being replaced.
(2)
Each term of service on the Commission that was due to expire
on June 30, 2024, is extended through December 31, 2024.
(b)
Term Limits. Appointees are limited to two consecutive two-year
terms of membership on the Planning Commission, including a partial
term. An appointee may not be reappointed to the Planning Commission
after completion of two consecutive terms, including a partial term.
After serving a maximum of two consecutive two-year terms (including
a partial term), an appointee shall not be reappointed to the Planning
Commission unless at least one year has elapsed between the expired
term limit and the effective date of commencement of the new term.
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, an appointee shall
not be precluded at any time following completion of service on the
Planning Commission from being appointed to another commission, board
or committee without the lapse of time between appointments. Term
limits will be applied prospectively, commencing with appointments
made on or after January 1, 2009.
(c)
Attendance Requirements and Conditions of Removal. Any member
of the Commission may be removed during the term of office by the
affirmative vote of three members of the City Council. Attendance
at all Commission meetings is an obligation of each member of the
Commission. If a member of the Commission is absent without Commission
permission from all regular Commission meetings for 95 days consecutively
from the last regular meeting that the member of the Commission attended,
that member's seat shall be deemed vacant, and the City Council
shall appoint a new member for that seat. The Commission in its by-laws
shall adopt a procedure for a member to obtain Commission permission
to be absent.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 1992; Ord. 382 § 1, 1996; Ord. 624 § 1, 2009; Ord. 727 § 1, 2020; Ord. 754, 6/20/2024)
The Planning Commission shall select from its membership a Chairperson
and Vice-Chairperson who shall serve in that capacity commencing upon
their selection until June 30th of the following year or until the
term expires; whichever comes first, and until their successor is
selected.
(a)
The
order of selection of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be
determined by the length of the current term of incumbency, as defined
by the date of appointment to the current term. When two or more Planning
Commissioners have equal terms of incumbency, the order shall be determined
by the highest number of votes given by City Council at the time of
their appointment, and if that number is equal, then by lot.
(b)
The
outgoing Chairperson's name will rotate to the bottom of the previous
year's Chairperson succession list, with all other names moving up
one position, in order that the outgoing Vice-Chairperson shall become
the new Chairperson.
(c)
Newly
appointed Planning Commissioners shall be added to the bottom of the
Chairperson succession list. During the annual rotation of the Chairperson
and Vice-Chairperson, the next appointed Planning Commissioner will
be placed ahead of the outgoing Chairperson on the succession list.
(d)
When
there are two or more newly appointed Planning Commissioners, the
succession list placement order shall be determined by the person
who received the highest number of votes of the City Council. If the
number of votes given by the City Council for the newly appointed
members is equal, the order shall be determined by lot.
(Ord. 296 1, 1992; Ord. 382 § 1, 1996; Ord. 446 § 5, 1999; Ord. 582 § 1, 2006)
The Planning Director, or his or her designee, shall represent
the City before the Planning Commission and shall be a City employee
and not employed by the Planning Commission. The City Council may,
from time to time, authorize the hiring of a consultant to act as
the Planning Director. Such an authorization shall be temporary and
for a defined purpose.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 1992)
The Planning Commission shall adopt bylaws for the transaction
of business, and shall keep a public record of its resolutions, transactions,
findings, and determinations. The Planning Commission shall hold at
least one meeting a month, except that the Planning Commission may
elect not to hold a meeting in July and/or August depending on the
workload present. The Planning Commission may elect not to hold and
may cancel other meetings upon good and valid reason in accordance
with procedures set forth in the Planning Commission's bylaws. Special
meetings may be called as established in the Planning Commission's
bylaws. The date, time, and place of the regular Planning Commission
Meeting shall be set by the Planning Commission in its bylaws. The
Planning Commission may hold additional meetings or study sessions
as required.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 1992)
